Garonga Safari Co.
Selati Portion 12, KT 143, Makalali Private Game Reserve 1390 South Africa
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What you can expect during your stay
- All linens sanitised in high-temperature wash
- Face masks required for guests in public areas
- Face masks required for staff in public areas
- Hand sanitiser available to guests & staff
- Stay-at-home policy for staff with symptoms
- Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
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Updated 20/11/20 Safety precautions are provided by the property and are not checked by Tripadvisor for accuracy.
A note from Garonga Safari Co.
Updated 20/11/20 Safety precautions are provided by the property and are not checked by Tripadvisor for accuracy.
About
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A luxury safari experience at Garonga Safari Co. replenishes mind, body and soul. Garonga Safari Camp, Little Garonga and MCH Private Tented Camp are safari camps in South Africa, hidden away in the Greater Makalali Private Nature Reserve (22 000 hectares). This is prime Big 5 wildlife territory located west of the Kruger National Park. Special indulgences celebrate our 'safari for the soul' ethos and make this an unforgettable retreat. This is truly a "Safari for the Soul". Fall in step with nature and encounter the wildlife that roam South Africa's wilderness. Game drives and walking safaris with our expert guides get you up-close to the Big 5, endangered species like cheetah and wild dog, and diverse birdlife. Sleep deeply in one of our luxury safari camps, each one offering a relaxing retreat for couples or small groups. For a wild and wonderful experience, spend one night beneath a canvas of stars on our safari Sleep Out Deck. Unwind completely at the Massage 'Sala', Sleep Out Deck and safari Bush Bath as part of the Big 5 safari and spa experience. The Yoga Deck is perfect for mindful practice in nature. Delight in safari dining that pairs perfectly with nature's beauty. Excellent South African wines and several cuisine choices can be enjoyed in an intimate private setting or the festive Bush Boma At Garonga Safari Camp, luxury tented safari romance meets the wild beauty of the South African bush setting. It's an exclusive tented camp, with just six luxury en-suite units that combine a canvas canopy, rustic-textured walls and raised wooden deck overlooking a dry riverbed. Little Garonga has three fully en-suite, thatched and air-conditioned suites, all situated around centralised indoor/outdoor lounge areas, a swimming pool and built-in braai/BBQ area. Each suite has its own platform deck, complete with hammock. The lodge also has its own host, chef, waiter and housekeeper so is totally self-contained and run separately from the Safari Camp. MCH is the newest addition to the Garonga Safari Co. family. As a canvas tented camp, it embodies authentic safari style, yet has the added luxuries that make it a signature ‘safari for the soul’ experience. MCH offers family or friend groups a private and intimate bush getaway, perfect for extended stays. If not booked out for a group, individual couples are welcome to make it home for their luxury safari stay. Perched on a kopje (little hill), you can revel in panoramic views of the wild Makalali Reserve and Drakensberg Mountains beyond. The four tents boast air-conditioning and wifi. They are fully en-suite with sumptuous bathtub and indoor and outdoor showers. Each features a well-stocked bar and indoor lounge that flows outside onto a private deck.
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Property amenities
Free parking
Free internet
Pool
Yoga room
Free breakfast
Walking tours
Airport transportation
Spa
Secured parking
Public wifi
Pool / beach towels
Infinity pool
Pool with view
Outdoor pool
Private pool
Bar / lounge
Restaurant
Breakfast buffet
Complimentary Instant Coffee
Complimentary tea
Complimentary welcome drink
Outdoor dining area
Special diet menus
Wine / champagne
Couples massage
Foot massage
Full body massage
Hand massage
Head massage
Massage
Neck massage
Open-air bath
Adults only
24-hour security
BBQ facilities
Gift shop
Mosquito net
Outdoor fireplace
Outdoor furniture
Sun loungers / beach chairs
Sun terrace
First aid kit
Umbrella
Private check-in / check-out
Laundry service
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Room features
Blackout curtains
Bathrobes
Desk
Housekeeping
Private balcony
Minibar
Extra long beds
Walk-in shower
Safe
Seating area
Sofa
Wardrobe / wardrobe
Bottled water
Clothes rack
Laptop safe
Private bathrooms
Wake-up service / alarm clock
Electric blanket
Bath / shower
Complimentary toiletries
Hair dryer
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Room types
Mountain view
Landmark view
Pool view
Non-smoking rooms
Suites
Family rooms
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
HOTEL STYLE
Quiet
Languages Spoken
English, French, Afrikaans, Xhosa and 1 more
Location
Full view
Contact
Selati Portion 12, KT 143, Makalali Private Game Reserve 1390 South Africa
Getting there
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Wow is all we can say!! We booked Garonga 2 years ago for our honeymoon and had very high expectations which we had built up over that time. Garonga did not disappoint, in fact it was above anything we could ever imagine. Our driver and tracker (Geoff and Gladstone) were amazing, so informative and would do anything to ensure we got the best view of the animals. The accommodation is beautiful and so peaceful, I don't think picture do it justice. Nothing is too much trouble for the staff either, who are lovely and so welcoming. When it was time for us to depart it was like leaving family members, and was hard to leave. When we booked our honeymoon we said it was a once in a lifetime trip but since being there we have realised that is no longer true and we definitely aim to go. Thank you Garonga for making our honeymoon so magical and a dream come true experience.…
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Date of stay: June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
My 3rd Visit to Garonga. Just love the Tranquillity of the small Safari Camp. Such attention to detail when it comes to a Bush Safari Camp. The food is just incredibly amazing! Service and staff are just on another level of above excellence! I highly recommend Garonga Safari Camp!
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: June 2022
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
So much I could say about Garoga but I'll keep it short. The whole place is amazing, from all the staff the food and accommodation I couldn't fault a thing. We had a terrible noise outside our tent caused by the monkeys on the first night, only to learn in the morning a Leopard had been outside our room. We seen every animal possible on our game drives, including 2 lion kills. One was during the day and one was at night. Have to be honest and say I did shed a tear during the first one, although I know how lucky we were to witness this. Our guides Jordi and Phineas were excellent in every way, we laughed and enjoyed each others company along with the other guests. Also had Kaizer and Gladstone on a couple of drives and they were also excellent. The food was amazing and a big thanks to all the chefs and other staff during meal times. All this couldn't be possible without our morning morning calls from Collin, much appreciated. I could go on and on about Garonga and what we seen, but I'll leave it with a word for Mr Smith. Your staff speak very highly of you and it shows that they are happy in there work. Mr Smith you have got it spot on......until next time. Cheers.....The Fenton's…
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Date of stay: May 2022
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
We recently booked Little Garonga for these dates 28/12/22 - 02/01/23. We received notification the reservation was confirmed from the lodge via our SA agent. One week later our agent received further notification there was a "Mixup” with the booking and these dates were no longer available. Subsequently we were offered a room upgrade if we would move our dates. In order to change dates we had to revise our Complete Itinerary at several other lodges to accommodate this "Mixup". (This included international flights). Our agent worked out a solution with Little Garonga that would align with our other travel arrangements, Little Garonga confirmed they could accommodate the new dates 24/12/22 - 29/12/22. Less than 24 hours later we received another notification from Little Garonga stating they can no longer honour those dates and in fact had NO availability in December! We are experienced travellers having multiple safaris in Africa. Never have we experienced such unreliable and unprofessional handling of booking procedures. Disappointingly no acknowledgement of what went wrong from the lodge has been given, this makes it hard to understand how genuine these two “ Mixups“ were. How does a booking be confirmed not once but twice and then it is not available?…
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Date of stay: May 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Response from BERNIE SMITH, Owner at Garonga Safari Co.
Responded 23 May 2022
Dear Sir, I apologise profusely for this cock up, and take full responsibility for this. Unfortunately there was a message that did not get through to Reservations that Little Garonga had to be closed. This is due to staff numbers, and a lot of jiggling with availability. If there is anything I can do please let me know. I can offer a complimentary night if you booked again, but based on your feedback this is unlikely that you would wish to book Garonga. Regards Bernie
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We officially booked this trip in 2020, but the world had other plans of course. However, we finally went this month (May 2022) for our long awaited honeymoon and my husband and I are so glad we went — even with the years of waiting, the trip far exceeded all of our expectations! We stayed for 5 nights and had Kaizer and Gladstone as our guide and tracker for our twice daily game drives. They were able to not only make sure we saw 4 of the big five (though not finding that leopard was definitely NOT for lack of trying), but also were able to situate us for some incredible game viewing — like sitting in the middle of an elephant herd, watching lions and cubs feed on a carcass and watching two cheetahs snuggle. They also had us going off-road through the bush once they found Rhino prints — which was an incredible experience (and they did find the Rhinos which was even more incredible)!! We saw so many animals other than the big 5 (e.g., inpalas, heyenas, bush babies, steenbok, giraffes, zebras, hippos, cheetah, crocodile, monkey, zazoo bird, warthog, wildebeest) and so many baby animals too. Kaizer and Gladstone were truly phenomenal guides and had so much knowledge to share with us. They really made our experience one we will never forget. We also did a bush walk with Josiah and Kaizer and they taught us the basics about how to track the animals. The walk itself was really interesting and we learned a ton about the different animal tracks that we were then able to incorporate on our game drives — which made them even more fun! We also had an incredible experience with the staff more generally. Steph was so kind and helpful at all times, including shuffling things a bit so we could squeeze in one last game drive before we left. Collin was always an absolute delight with the morning wake up calls and walking us back to our room in the evening. Aldrin especially was a true delight — he lit up the room whenever we were eating our meals and even taught my husband some words in his native language, which was such a treat! The food was always phenomenal. I was worried about my vegetarianism and they always accommodated me with ease and absolutely delicious meals. (And my husband is a picky eater at home, but at Garonga, he devoured every meal and loved it!!!) Truly world class food. We had such an amazing safari experience with Garonga and were so sad to leave. We can’t wait to return one day soon with our future family!…
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Date of stay: May 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
Response from BERNIE SMITH, Owner at Garonga Safari Co.
Responded 08 Jun 2022
Thanks so much for your feedback. I'm so glad you enjoyed your Long awaited honeymoon. Great that you had such a great experience with the Safari Teams, driving and walking. Also that the Team under Steph looked after you so well. It was a pleasure hosting you. Best Regards Bernie
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Fantastic stay at Garonga with probably the friendiest and hardest working staff I've come across. We arrived a bit late for the afternoon drive but they were good enough to drive us out to our appointed ranger, Kaiser, and tracker, Gladstone, who were amazing and had a lovely way of teaching us about the local area and animals. Game viewing highlights included, a couple of Cheetas and also a pride lions feeding on a Giraffe. Sadly, we only stayed for 1 night at the Safari Camp but would have loved to have stayed for longer.
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Date of stay: May 2022
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
Response from BERNIE SMITH, Owner at Garonga Safari Co.
Responded 08 Jun 2022
Thank you very much for your report. Great that you had a such a safari experience even if over one night/day. Very much appreciate your thoughts on the team. I will be sure too pass on. Best Wishes Bernie
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
What a stunning place in the secret bushveld. Service and food was amazing and wonderful fellow guests. The rooms are exceptional- huge bed and overlooking the river. Overall atmosphere was really great - thanks
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: April 2022
Value
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Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
Response from BERNIE SMITH, Owner at Garonga Safari Co.
Responded 08 Jun 2022
Thanks indeed for your feedback, and so glad you enjoyed your stay at Garonga. Best Wishes Bernie
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Great Safari at Garonga! They took care of everything to make us feel truly carefree and able to enjoy our safari. The staff was profesional and attentive. We had a great time! meals were fantastic! They serve drinks and snacks half way through the morning and evening safaris. Dinners were an event by the campfire with wine, 3 course meal and amazing desert! Gluten free food was available for all meals and delicious!
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Date of stay: April 2022
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Room Tip: Any of the cabins will be good!
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
Response from BERNIE SMITH, Owner at Garonga Safari Co.
Responded 08 Jun 2022
It was indeed a pleasure having you to stay. Thanks so much for your kind words. Best Regards Bernie
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
After the holiday of a lifetime, we’re bidding farewell to the amazing Garonga Safari Company. So many lovely people have made our stay memorable but a special shout out to Camp Manager Steph, Waiter Hefric and Security Man Colin and of course to our Guide Sophie and Tracker Bongi who in addition to getting us up close and personal with Lions, Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard, Black and White Rhino, Cheetah, Giraffe, Zebra, Warthog, Wildebeest, Black backed and Striped Jackal, Hyaena, about 6 species of Antelope, Mongoose….., have taught us about the medicinal uses of plants and some basics of tracking. If a Pub quiz ever asks to differentiate between Black Rhino, White Rhino and Elephant dung, I’m your girl! In line with Sophie’s dung fixation we finished off the holiday with a competition to see who could spit Impala droppings furthest…. As you do!…
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Date of stay: May 2022
Value
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Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Response from BERNIE SMITH, Owner at Garonga Safari Co.
Responded 08 Jun 2022
It was great to have you stay and so chuffed you enjoyed the Garonga Experience. We are indeed very fortunate to have such a great team and so glad they looked after you so well. The Poo spitting - as traditional as sundowners. Best Regards Bernie
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Just returned from this little piece of heaven and I really cannot praise it enough. We had a very warm welcome, and soon relaxed after our long journey. We'd finally arrived after various cancellations since 2020. The staff are very kind with a marvellous sense of humour, listen for the wine recommendations each night. The chefs are pretty amazing, the Potjie was melt in the mouth, if that was african food I need to broaden my taste buds. Our driver/guide Jaff and tracker Paul eagle eyes, were extremely kind helping me in and out of the vehicle. Fantastic fun, very knowledgeable and good to chat to around the fire and sundowners. Not forgetting the Oranges that Jaff picked at 3 am and squeezed himself for our breakfast :) A great pairing! Bernie, the owner a great chap and very thoughtfully in coming to check I was ok when confined to tent for a day (due to a change in meds). This is the gent who strolls through the bush with an umbrella over his shoulder. Ready for any more Cape Buffalo, Bernie? The luxury tents were just that and it was very relaxing to sit and look out over the water hole where a large bull Elephant came several minutes after our arrival. We were lucky enough to see all 5 and more thanks to Jaff and Paul. This little part of our earth is utterly special. I've always been a little sceptical when people wax lyrical about a destination. If you want sights, sounds and smells of the bush, If you want complete relaxation for your soul. This place is it ! Especially when sat beside a beautiful herd of elephants. Thank you Bernie to you and your lovely people ! Fi and Phil…
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Date of stay: April 2022
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Room Tip: All the tents are luxury.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
Response from BERNIE SMITH, Owner at Garonga Safari Co.
Responded 08 Jun 2022
Dear Fi and Phil, What a pleasure having you to stay. Im so glad you enjoyed your whole stay, including Jaff's oranges at 0300hrs. Very Dubious indeed Jaff!! Thanks indeed for your very kind feedback. Best Wishes Bernie
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
PRICE RANGE
US$896 - US$1 071 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
garonga safari camp hotel makalali private game reserve
LOCATION
South AfricaLimpopo ProvinceMakalali Private Game Reserve
NUMBER OF ROOMS
6
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Claim Your Listing Frequently Asked Questions about Garonga Safari Co.
What are some of the property amenities at Garonga Safari Co.?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free breakfast, a pool, and an on-site restaurant.
Which room amenities are available at Garonga Safari Co.?
Top room amenities include a minibar, blackout curtains, and a desk.
What food & drink options are available at Garonga Safari Co.?
Guests can enjoy free breakfast, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge during their stay.
Is parking available at Garonga Safari Co.?
Yes, free parking and secured parking are available to guests.
Are there opportunities to exercise at Garonga Safari Co.?
Yes, guests have access to a pool and a yoga room during their stay.
Does Garonga Safari Co. have airport transportation?
Yes, Garonga Safari Co. offers airport transportation for guests. We recommend calling ahead to confirm details.
Which languages are spoken by the staff at Garonga Safari Co.?
The staff speaks multiple languages, including English, French, Afrikaans, Zulu, and Xhosa.